Wiggins looking for late momentum before districts

WIGGINS — For the first time this season, the Wiggins baseball team swept a conference opponent.

In both games, the Tigers had to rally late to take the lead and defeat the Wray Eagles on their home field. In the first game, it was three runs in the bottom of the seventh that gave Wiggins the 7-6 walkoff win. A five-run fifth inning put the Tigers up in game two, where they would go on to win 6-2 to improve to 7-10 on the season.

"You always want to hit that stride at the end of the season," head coach Aaron Phillips said. "We didn't play our best baseball today, but we talked all week about finding a way to win. Teams have improved, you just have to find a way."

Phillips started game one with Dillon Harshman on the mound. The freshman played with an early lead after Bryce Ford singled in a run in the first inning, and another one-run lead came in the fourth when Cael Croissant scored on a wild pitch.

Wray would put the ball in play in the fifth inning and saw the Wiggins defense struggle to cleanly field the ball and make the throws to get the outs. Three errors led the way to the tying run, but the Eagles would not settle for a tie. A sacrifice fly to right field from Andrew Anderson gave the Eagles their first lead and a two-run single from Manny Huerta put Wray in front 5-2.

Wray scored its sixth run off of relief pitcher Josh Dorren with another sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth. The lead left the Eagles hungry to finish the game and get their first win of the season.

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The Tigers would fight their way back, at the expense of the Wray pitching staff.

Wiggins scored two runs in the fifth inning by way of wild pitch. Trailing 6-4 entering the ninth inning, the team saw the first three batters reach base via walk as Wray relief pitcher Ignacio Mireles struggled with his command. The first run of the inning scored from Peter Kammerzell reaching home on a wild pitch with no outs. Croissant followed suit, tying the game on another wild pitch and putting Wiggins in position to get the walkoff win.

Wiggins sophomore Bryce Ford (left) stretches out to get the catch in time to record an out at first base versus Wray on Monday, May 1, 2017. (Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times)

Scoring the winning run with two outs was Ford, who also reached home on a wild pitch to give the Tigers the victory.

"Our guys showed some fight at the end there," Phillips said. "We capitalized on their mistakes. You have to capitalize when they make mistakes."

The Tigers were held to four base hits but drew seven walks and used their aggressive base running to get the win.

In game two, the Tigers got a good start from Isaac Oberg through the first three innings and took a 1-0 lead in the third on a fielding error from the Eagles. When Wray loaded the bases in the fouth with no outs, Phillips turned to Ford to get out of the jam and keep the Tigers in a position to win the game.

The move paid off as Ford allowed just one run in the inning.

"Bryce Ford has been a gem for us," Phillips said. "He's come in and shown a leadership role, especially on the mound. He's been a pleasant surprise."

Offense was finally found for Wiggins in the fifth inning after giving up the lead with five base hits leading to five runs. Croissant drove in the first run with a triple and later scored on a two-run double from Josh Dorren. Ford's sacrifice bunt caught the Eagles' defense asleep to score the fourth run and one more run would score before the inning was over, giving Wiggins the 6-2 lead.

It would be more than enough for Ford as he retired six of the last eight batters he faced by strikeout to complete the sweep.

On Friday, Wiggins will face much stronger competition in their conference when they host Sedgwick County, a perennial power in class 2A and leader in the Lower Platte League. Friday's double-header will start at 3 p.m.

"Our focus is going to have to intensify," Phillips said. "We can't play four innings against a team like them. We have to play a full seven. We need to be locked in every single pitch. I like our odds going into it."

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